Directors During The Studio Era Yow Chong Lee Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts Universiti Malaysia Sarawak This OpenCourseWare@UNIMAS and its related course materials are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Learning Objectives: To identify the directors their background, films & contributions To explain the reasons of their employment
Who Were Needed Then? Having a chain of cinemas To ensure continuous supply of films (in local contents) Who/what were needed? Establishing studios
The Directors: Where Did They Come From? Philip pines India Local They enrich the filmmaking scene in Malay(si)a
Malay Language Films INDIAN DIRECTORS
Importing Directors From India WHY? Economical Cultural
Economical Reasons Cheap creative labour Economic Reasons They were exposed to film business They had some filmmaking experience
Cultural Reasons Cultural interaction between India and Malaya was established earlier Cultural Reasons Common e.g. Hindu influences on the customs and ritual traditions Understand some words from Sanskrit the root of most Indian languages, especially Hindi
The Directors From India 1 st Batch (1950 and before) 2 nd Batch (late 52 early 53 ) Who are they? Why are there several batches? 3 rd Batch (53 after Cathay-Keris studio was set up) - B.S. Rajhans - L. Krishnan - S. Ramanathan - K.M. Basker - B.N. Rao - V. Girimaji - K.R. Sastry - Phani Majumdar - Kidar Sharma - Dhiresh Ghosh
L. Krishnan: A Driver Turned Director! Krishnan was raised in Penang from the age of six. He spoke Malay to his artistes. Krishnan made friends and invited local writers and journalists to submit their stories.
Krishnan s Films Bakti (Service) (1950) Adaptation of Wuthering Heights Ramlee Putih (P. Ramlee) played the lead role beside Kasma Booty Rayuan Sukma (The Longing of Soul) (19951) As a result of working closely with local journalists and writers Virgin of Borneo (1958) Made while working under contract with Cathay- Keris Adaptation from a novel called Cinta Gadis Rimba (Love of the Jungle Maiden) by Harun Aminurrashid
S. Ramanathan: 1 st Batch Director S. Ramanathan -Kembar (Twins) (1950) - Pulau Mutiara (Pearl Island) (1951) - Juwita (Love) (1951) Led by Ramlee-Booty
Second Batch Directors: From India 2 nd batch of directors 1952-1953: KM Basker BN Rao V Girimaji KR Sastry From Malabar but raised & studied in Malaya. Introduced performance styles, filming methods & Indian cinematic traditions.
Please Raise Our Wage, or! When Cathay-Keris studio was set up in 1953, Krishnan, Rajhans and later Rao and Basker left MFP. Some of their favourite artistes followed their suit too: Neng Yatimah, Nordin Ahmad, Maria Menado and Siput Sarawak
Time to Seek For Replacements! Phani Majumdar Experienced director directed Hang Tuah (1956), Anak-ku Sazali (1956) & Long House (1957). Kidar Sharma Well-known for his artistic films in India, ex: Suhag Raat Directed only one film for MFP, Kaki Kuda (1958) a vulgar-comedy Dhiresh Ghosh Made Gergasi (1958) & adapted Malay legends & semi-historical scripts. Finished his 5-year contract.
Malay Language Films THE FILIPINO DIRECTORS
The Filipino Directors WHY? Brought in to Singapore after 1955. To seek for replacement for those Indian directors. Brought in American film techniques shooting & lighting techniques that reduced overall shooting time.
Who were They? Eddy Infante Rolf Bayer Who? T. C. Santos Lamberto Avellana Ramon Estella
Ramon Estella He worked in America, Vietnam, Italy & Philippines. How many films had he directed for MFP? 8 His films were different in genres, what were they? Historical Horror Comedy He had directed: Matahari Samseng Pusaka Pontianak
Lamberto Avellana On Badjao Documentar y style film Badjao Work with Bayer Neo- Realist Sergeant Hassan Only 1 Film for MFP Awardwinning Directors Best Director and Best Picture
The Malay Language Films THE LOCAL DIRECTORS
Before 1950s: Local Crew Very few local technical staff involved in filmmaking. Due to lack of film knowledge, they were involved as clapper boy, boom operator, focus puller or continuity clerk. From late 1940s early 1950s onwards, locals became cameramen & assistant directors.
Pressure From The Activists! 1950s: Expansion of social and cultural activism in Malaya growing nationalistic feeling. Newspapers and magazines placed more focus on local film industry. Writers call for studios to allow Malay directors to direct as they understand Malay customs & traditions.
The Local Directors Mahadi Jamil Sulong Who? P. Ramlee S. Roomai Noor
The Local Directors: Mahadi Mohd Said Mahadi Mohd Said Joined MFP at 38 years old First* Malay director for SB Directed his first & only film Permata di Perlimbahan in 1953 based on AR Tompel s script Fatimah.
The Local Directors: P. Ramlee Performing in Penang Bangsawan & found by BS Rahjans. late 1940s: playback singer for MFP. Acted in 20 films under all the Indian directors as villain as well as hero. Ideal model of Malay film star.
P. Ramlee: All-in-One Late 1950s: became important composer, singer, director & actor
The Demise of An Artist Appeared in 63 films, directed 34 films. Died on 29 May 1973 at 44 years old when no longer popular. His films are loved for their acute social analysis of the Malays, who were suddenly caught up in rapid social, political and cultural changes in the 1950 s and 1960s.
From Actor to Director: S Roomai Noor Worked for MFP clerk, translator & assistant director. Played the main role in Chinta (1948) with Siput Sarawak. Left MFP to join Cathay-Keris in 1954. Cathay-Keris first local director.
Not An Actor, But A Director: Jamil Sulong 1959: directed Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup. Directed 17 purba films adapted from Malay legends & mythologies for MFP.
The Malay Directors: Others Omar Rojik (1960) MFP S Kadarisman (1961) MFP Hussein Haniff (1961) Cathay-Keris Salleh Ghani (1961) Cathay-Keris M Amin (1962) Cathay-Keris Nordin Ahmad (1964) Cathay-Keris Malay directors worked together with Indian directors. By 1963, only left Diresh Ghosh (last film Korban 1963) & Ramon Estella (last film Pusaka Pontianak 1965) at MFP. 1963-1967: Local directors in control until MFP closed down.
Conclusion There were directors from several nations who had enriched the cinematic culture of Malay(si)a. Economical and cultural reasons had drawn the studio(s) to hire these directors during the studio era. Local directors started directing after demanded by several quarters.
Resources: Books: Hatta Azad Khan (1997). The Malay Cinema. Selangor: Penerbit UKM. Mohd Zamberi A. Malek and Aimi Jarr (2005). Malaysian Films: The Beginning. Selangor: FINAS. Van der Heide, William (2002). Malaysian Cinema, Asian Film: Border Crossings and National Cultures. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.